Society of Plastics Engineers

The Society of Plastics Engineers is international organization dedicated to the advancement of knowledge and education for all plastics professionals. The SPE was established in 1942. Today it is home to more than 20,000 plastics professionals in the United States, and more than 70 countries everywhere the world.

 Plastics engineering encompasses the processing, design, development, and fabrication of plastics products. A plastic is a polymeric material that is in a semi-liquid state, having the property of plasticity and revealing flow. Plastics engineering encompasses plastics material and plastic machinery. Plastic Machinery is the common term for all types of machinery and devices used in the plastics dispensation industry. The nature of plastic materials produces unique challenges to an engineer. Mechanical properties of plastics are often difficult to enumerate, and the plastics engineer has to design a product that meets certain specifications while charge costs to a minimum. Other properties that the plastics engineer has to address include: outdoor weatherability, thermal possessions such as upper use temperature, electrical properties, barrier properties, and resistance to chemical attack.

The organization is divided into five parts: local and geographical sections, technical divisions, staff, volunteer leadership, and student societies. There are also groups which are under formation, such as Sections in Formation or Special Interest Groups .Sections exist around the world in over 70 countries. Sections publish confined news letters as well as establish technical and social meetings.

Members of the SPE are also members of one or more of 26 specific technical associations. Affiliations include processing techniques, analysis, material specifics, markets, job function, and others. The Divisions are various and include areas such as Blow Molding and Extrusion to types of plastics like Vinyls or Thermosets. 14 groups occur for the interest of development of new technologies or special interest areas that may at one theme become a Technical Division. Locations without an active SPE Section that have formed a core group of engrossed members and potential officers are known as SIFs or "Sections in Formation."

The Society embraces an "Annual Technical Conference" or ANTEC for short, each spiral. Usually the meetings are in early May in innumerable locations around North America. The meeting includes the largest demonstration of peer-reviewed technical papers about plastics in the world, with typically over 700 submissions in sessions running all day from Monday thru Wednesday afternoon. 

The following is the list of scholars from Society of Plastics Engineers who contributed and/or serves as editors for one or more OMICS International journals and conferences

• Donald R. Paul
• Ivana Soljic Jerbic
• Jacqueline Pope